IN THIS ISSUE: ACES | business | engineering | FAA | integrative biology | LAS | MISC. | NCSA | publications and marketing | secretariat | vice chancellor for research
agricultural, consumer and environmental sciences
The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences honored faculty and staff members and alumni at the college's annual awards banquet April 24.
Winners of this year’s Paul A. Funk Recognition Awards are Cleora J. D'Arcy, professor of crop sciences; Burton E. Swanson, professor of agricultural and consumer economics; and Lila O. Vodkin, professor of crop molecular biology. The awards recognize outstanding professional achievement and major contributions to the betterment of agriculture broadly defined.
The ACES Alumni Association honored four college graduates who have made significant contributions to their chosen professions and to the human sciences and food and natural resources industries. Among this year's recipients is David L. Chicoine, former dean of the college and now UI vice president for economic development and corporate relations.
The first recipient of the Spitze Award is John W. Dudley, who holds the Renessen Endowed Chair in Corn Quality Trait Breeding and Genetics in the department of crop sciences. Created by the Robert G.F. Spitze Educational Fund and the Hazel Taylor Spitze Educational Fund, the award is presented to encourage and recognize the professional career of tenured faculty members in their performance and commitment to teaching and advising, research and publication, extension and public service, faculty governance and participation in professional associations.
Several awards also were presented in the areas of teaching, research and extension:
Keith W. Singletary, who directs the Functional Foods for Health program in the Division of Nutritional Sciences, received the Senior Faculty Award for Excellence in Research. Rodney W. Johnson, a professor of animal sciences, received the college Faculty Award for Excellence in Research.
The Senior Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching was awarded to Gary J. King, a professor of horticulture in the department of natural resources and environmental sciences. Prasanta K. Kalita, a professor of agricultural engineering, received the college Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Emerson D. Nafziger, a professor and Extension specialist in the department of crop sciences, is the recipient of the Senior Faculty Award for Excellence in Extension. Raymond A. Cloyd, a professor and Extension specialist in floriculture in the department of natural resources and environmental sciences, received the college Award for Excellence in Extension.
The Carl E. Gardner Outstanding Undergraduate Adviser Award was presented to Michael C. Hirschi, a professor and Extension specialist in the department of agricultural engineering. Tom Carr, a professor and Extension specialist in the department of animal sciences, received the Clyde and Henrietta Downey Spitler Teaching Award.
A multi-disciplinary group that attacked the western corn rootworm problem will receive the college's Team Award for Excellence. Members are Mark R. Band, director of functional genomics; Michael E. Gray, professor and associate head of crop sciences; Scott A. Isard, professor of geography; Eli Levine, scientist, Illinois Natural History Survey; Harris A. Lewin, professor of immunogenetics and director of the UI's Keck Center for Comparative and Functional Genomics; Lei Liu, scientist, National Center for Supercomputing Applications; David W. Onstad, professor of natural resources and environmental sciences; Susan T. Ratcliffe, Extension specialist, department of crop sciences; Hugh M. Robertson, professor of entomology; and Joseph L. Spencer, scientist, Illinois Natural History Survey.
Robert W. Frazee, a UI Extension natural resource management educator based in East Peoria, and Jane A. Scherer, Extension urban programming specialist based in Urbana, received professional staff awards for sustained excellence. Karen M. Chan, an Extension educator in consumer and family economics in northeastern Illinois, and Ted L. Funk, an Extension specialist in the department of agricultural engineering, were honored for innovation and creativity as members of the professional staff.
The Marcella M. Nance Award is given each year to one of the three recipients of the Staff Award for Excellence. Earning this year's Nance Award is Douglas A. Hilgendorf, who manages the UI's dairy herd. Other awards for excellence went to Jerry L. Chandler, a crop-testing specialist in the department of crop sciences, and Barbara J. Vandeventer, who provides secretarial support to 23 faculty members in the department of food science and human nutrition.
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business
The College of Business has announced the recipients of the 2003 Dean's Awards for Excellence in Research. George Deltas, professor of economics, was named as the junior researcher, and Brian Wansink, professor of business administration, was named as the senior researcher.
In other college awards, Teresa Petry Dorsey, director of the college's Study Abroad Program, was named Outstanding Academic Professional; Carol Nelson, administrative aide, received the Outstanding Staff Award.
College of Business Alumni Association presented several teaching awards. The Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award went to David Lins, professor of finance. Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award was presented to Stephen D'Arcy, professor of finance.
engineering
James A. Stori, professor of engineering, received the Jiri Tlusty Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. The society is the world's leading professional society supporting manufacturing education. The award recognizes significant achievements and leadership in manufacturing engineering.
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fine and applied arts
Christiane Martens, professor of art and design, recently was awarded the main commission by the State of Illinois Capital Development Board in an invited competition of Illinois sculptors. Martens' winning sculpture, titled "Aiming High," consists of flat stainless steel plates and measures 13 feet by 10 feet. It will be placed on a granite base in front of the main entrance at Richland Community College in Decatur.
"In designing 'Aiming High,' I had in mind a sculpture that would express in visual forms the promise and opportunities that higher education offers," Martens said. "I wanted its simple interlocking shapes to suggest the different bodies of knowledge that prepare a person for success in life."
Two other large-scale works by Martens have been selected to be placed near two UI buildings. "Wing Formation," a steel sculpture measuring 12 feet by 8 1/2 feet, was installed last fall at the entrance of the Institute of Aviation. "Warp 11," a large steel and stainless steel wall piece, was selected through the State of Illinois Art Acquisition Committee to be placed at the Incubator building at the South Research Park.
William Rose, research architect in the School of Architecture and the Building Research Council, has received the Technical Achievement Award from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. The award is given for excellence in technical leadership and contribution. Rose was recognized for his work on the society's standards committee, a technical committee, and as the chair of the society's 2001 indoor air quality conference.
James L. Wescoat Jr., professor of landscape architecture, was named a Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar. Visiting scholars are invited to make a series of visits to participating Phi Beta Kappa institutions and take part in classroom lectures and seminars, meet informally with faculty members and students groups, and give one address open to the entire academic unit.
integrative biology
Govindjee, professor emeritus of plant biology in the School of Integrative Biology, will serve as Honorary President of the 13th International Congress of Photosynthesis that will be held in Montreal in September 2004. He will deliver a short presentation during the inaugural plenary session and officially open the congress.
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liberal arts and sciences
William T. Greenough, director of the Center for Advanced Study, Swanlund Endowed Chair, and CAS professor of psychology, of psychiatry and of cell and structural biology, received the 2003 Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Child Development from the Society for Research in Child Development. Greenough’s research addresses the normal and pathological development of the brain.
Norbert Wiley, professor emeritus of sociology, was appointed Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Berkley. During his tenure, Wiley is writing a book on pragmatism and American democracy. At the annual Convention of the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction, there will be a session devoted to Wiley's book, "The Semiotic Self" (University of Chicago, 1994).
Jeffrey S. Moore, the William and Janet Lycan Professor of Chemistry, has been named Professor of the Year by Alpha Epsilon Delta, a pre-health honor society at the UI. Moore was recognized for his outstanding efforts in undergraduate education and his outstanding service and teaching record.
Paul C. Lauterbur, professor of chemistry, has been selected to receive the 2003 Technology Award of the Eduard Rhein Foundation, Germany. The foremost technology award in Europe will be given to Lauterbur "for the invention of magnetic resonance imaging." The award will be presented in Munich in October.
Paul W. Bohn, professor of chemistry, has been named to receive the 2004 Pittsburgh Spectroscopy Award. The award is considered one of the most prestigious for analytical spectroscopists and is presented to a person who has established a career of accomplishments toward the advancement and understanding of spectroscopy.
Louise Fitzgerald, a professor of psychology and of women's studies, has been elected a fellow in the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Fitzgerald, who is nationally known for her research on gender issues in the workplace, particularly the effects of sexual harassment, was one of 14 SIOP members named a fellow, the society's highest honor. Announcement of the award was made April 11 during the annual SIOP national conference in Orlando, Fla.
Dianne Pinderhughes, professor of Afro-American studies and of political science, has been awarded a Woodrow Wilson Residential Fellowship for 2003-04 at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. Fellows in the program will spend an academic year in residence at the center beginning in September. Pinderhughes' project will be "The Evolution of Civil Rights Organizations in the Twentieth Century: African American Politics and the Voting Rights Act."
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miscellaneous
Lanny Arvan, assistant chief information officer for education technologies and professor of economics, and Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe, coordinator for information literacy services and instruction and professor of library administration, have been selected for the Frye Leadership Institute. The institute was established for individuals involved in higher education who hold leadership positions to educate them about leadership strategies and methods, with emphasis on academic, technological, economic, policy and other issues. Attendees are required to plan a yearlong project building on the institute experience. Arvan and Hinchliffe will be examining issues surrounding implementation of an enterprise learning management system, each focusing on different aspects of the system. Both studies will enable them to connect their in-depth projects to university initiatives as well as develop collaborations between Educational Technologies and the University Library in order to better serve faculty and staff members and students.
national center for supercomputing applications
Daniel A. Reed, director of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), is among the 25 information technology experts President George W. Bush intends to appoint as members of the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC), according to a White House announcement.
Members of PITAC provide the president with expert, independent advice on maintaining America's pre-eminence in advanced information technologies, including such key elements of the national IT infrastructure as high-performance computing, large-scale networking, and high-assurance software and systems design.
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publications and marketing
A publication created by the Office of Publications and Marketing has been selected to receive a CASE Circle of Excellence silver medal in the category Institutional Relations Publications. Melissa Edwards was project manager and Debra Bolgla was the designer for the "Living/Learning Brochure," produced for the Housing Division.
secretariat
Debbie Kemphues, administrative assistant I in the Graduate College, has received the 11th annual Office Professional of the Year Award from The Secretariat. She was nominated by Richard Wheeler, dean of the college. Kemphues was recognized with a traveling plaque, a permanent plaque and an engraved desk clock.
vice chancellor for research
Carla S. Barnwell, a project coordinator for the vice chancellor for research, has been certified as an Institutional Research Board professional. There are about 425 certified IRB professionals nationwide, about half of whom work in university settings, according to the Applied Research Ethics National Association. "Examination for certification evaluates an individual’s knowledge of ethical principles, historical events, regulatory requirements, and operational and functional issues relating to IRBs and human subjects protection programs … this credential represents an important benchmark in ongoing national efforts to enhance the protection of research subjects," a recent ARENA newsletter said.
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